Composite materials can be useful in a variety of industrial applications (e.g., in turbomachiney), for example, where temperature, pressure, strain/stress conditions, etc., make the use of constituent materials less desirable. Composite materials are often formed and then coated with a laminate to protect the underlying materials. However, manipulating composite structures can be difficult, especially when manipulation punctures the laminate. For example, when attempting to join two laminated composite structures or a laminated composite structure with a delaminated composite (or other structure), such as through drilling, pinning, etc., the laminate on the composite structure can be damaged. In some cases, drilling through a laminated composite causes cracking and/or fracturing in the laminate, which violates the structural integrity of that composite.